CHAPTER IX. A LITTLE DISCUSSION.
Grit was only ten years old when his stepfather began to serve out his sentence at the penitentiary, and the two had not seen each other since. Instead of the small boy he remembered, Brandon saw before him a boy large and strong for his age, of well-knit frame and sturdy look. Five years had made him quite a different boy. His daily exercise in rowing had strengthened his muscles and developed his chest, so that he seemed almost a young man.
Brandon stared in surprise at the boy.
"Is that—the cub?" he asked.
"I object to that name, Mr. Brandon," said Grit quietly.
"You've grown!" said Brandon, still regarding him with curiosity.
"Yes, I ought to have grown some in five years."
It occurred to Mr. Brandon that it might not be so easy as he had expected to bully his stepson. He resolved at first to be conciliatory.